Change and continuity in the reporting of science and technology: a study of The Times and the Guardian

Abstract

Changes in the scientific material selected for presentation in The Times and the Guardian are examined by comparing two periods—the mid-1970s and the end of the 1980s. The attitudes of the two newspapers to this material are also looked at via a content analysis. The longer-term trends suggested by this study are compared with the way the two newspapers handled a specific science-related event—the accident at Chernobyl—during this period. The results indicate that, in terms of the topics selected for reporting, there is a generally similar balance in the two newspapers, though each has its own particular subject emphases. This overall balance does not change greatly or rapidly with time. However, the attitudes to science and technology taken by the two newspapers differ appreciably. These differences appear in the reporting of such a specific event as Chernobyl, as well as in their continuing reporting of science and technology.